You can’t rely on third-party protection either. There is some built-in protection against downloading malware, but you can’t rely on it - the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. This kind of attack on OS X used to be so rare that it was hardly a concern, but it's now increasingly common, and increasingly dangerous. Malware is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.Ĥ. Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction.

Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work.

Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception to the above rule. The most extreme example is the “MacKeeper” scam.Īs a rule, the only software you should install is that which directly enables you to do the things you use a computer for - such as creating, communicating, and playing - and does not modify the way other software works. The more heavily promoted the product, the more likely it is to be garbage. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface. Don't install crapware, such as “themes,” 'haxies,' “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers,' “optimizers,” “accelerators,” 'boosters,' “extenders,” “cleaners,” 'doctors,' 'tune-ups,' “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” 'barriers,' “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial 'virus scanners,” 'disk tools,' or 'utilities.' With very few exceptions, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of trouble with system updates.ģ. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all such modifications that you use are compatible. Keeping up to date is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. In the App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.Ģ. Don’t rely completely on any single backup method, such as Time Machine. Don’t back up your backups all should be made directly from the original data. Make redundant backups, keeping at least one off site at all times.

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